Newborns at Mass - Tips??

[Called2Grace]

OK, so my son is now almost 3 weeks old, and taking him to Mass is a huge effort, but I would love to hear from those who managed it!

I have a sling, how practical is it to wear them in the sling during mass? Especially as I breastfeed and if he needs to eat during mass? The sling I have allows me to have my arms free which I will need as I will have my 4yr old with me too..

How do you manage it? (says the person with only 2 children...)

 

[LivingWordUnity]

OK, so my son is now almost 3 weeks old, and taking him to Mass is a huge effort, but I would love to hear from those who managed it!

I have a sling, how practical is it to wear them in the sling during mass? Especially as I breastfeed and if he needs to eat during mass? The sling I have allows me to have my arms free which I will need as I will have my 4yr old with me too..

How do you manage it? (says the person with only 2 children...)

I can only speak for my own personal experience with my two young daughters. My wife and I have always taken our babies to Mass unless sickness prevented it. If there is no crying room, we would try to bring something like cookie crackers, making sure to try to clean up any crumbs before we leave.

But if that didn't work, one of us would take her right outside and hope that she stops crying. If she does stop crying then I bring her back in. I believe that God will understand if you just try to do the best that you can do, and offer it up as a small sacrifice. It's very difficult, but it's a cross that parents have to bear.

“People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them, and when the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. Jesus, however, called the children to himself and said, 'Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.'” (Luke 18:15-17)

 

[Assisi]

Great thread C2G. I could do with some tips too.

Somehow Mat always seems to time it so that he needs to nurse while we're at Mass. It's cute though, when we all sing the parts of the Mass he stops to listen.

We walk to Mass, so we have the pram with us. The first week we put the pram in the aisle - bad idea. Now we fold up the pram and leave it up the back and one of us holds Matt during Mass. I try to sit not too close to the front so that I can nurse without distracting Father.

Last Sunday we were a little bit late to Mass and we didn't get a seat. We sat on the floor at the back to nurse - we won't be late again haha.

 

[marciebaby]

This is a topic I hope more people will respond to. I currently have 4 children, my husband is in the military and will be gone for 9 months this year, and I want to cry every Sunday. It seems like it takes all my energy to get everyone fed, bathed(although most bathe the night before), in the car, and to church. The service overlaps nap time, so my baby will start screaming and I'll have to take him out. Of course, I have to bring my 2-year-old as well, who will run around all over the place, while I chase her, exhausted, with a screaming baby, while my older two start crawling on the floor under the pews or pick paint off the wall. The whole time I'm wondering why I did not just stay at home.

 

[Cosmic Charlie]

Newborns at Mass - Tips??

15% - same as a diner.

 

[ShannonMcCatholic]

I wear my kiddos in the sling for Mass until they just absolutely are strong enough to climb out of it on their own...LOL! For much of Mass on Friday I had ANdrew in the sling (actually a mei tai) and he's 19 mos.

I always just nurse my babes in Mass--it keeps them happy and quiet and sleepy. We do sit up front--since having older children- they do much better up front- actually being able to see something other than the pants of the people in front of them. I do not bring snacks or toys--it's just crap for them to throw and smash. Someone would have to be absolutely staring at me non-stop without blinking to ever even get a glimpse of anything....

I don't do this, but some women feel more comfortable to toss a light blanket over their shoulder to gainmore privacy (personally I think that draws far, far more attention than simply nursing one's baby- but I whatever helps women nurse longer is alright by me.

If you have a ring sling- it won't be too long until you can just nurse in the sling.

Meh--I feel like Mass is often akin to the seventh circle of hell...I am assuming that one day all of my children will either be old enough or moved out so that it can be somehwat more aesthetically uplifting and appealing again..butt for now I remind myself that God's grace is being poured out on me, I am participating the best I can, and that motherhood is the vocation in which He placed me--and so I have to remember to assist at Mass as a mother.


Hang in there- you'll find what works for you. Your little one is still very, very young.

 

[ShannonMcCatholic]

Newborns at Mass - Tips??

15% - same as a diner.

Remind me not to wait on you...

 

[Mom2Alex]

Marciebaby, God bless you and your family!

I don't know if this would apply to your situation, but there was a family in our parish, FIVE boys under 7 and when Dad went off to Iraq, our priest announced that Mom would be needing some support. Parishioners came out of the woodwork to help her with the children during Mass - and from what I understand - some offered to help with babysitting duties, laundry, etc. I find that the majority of people would love to help and only need to be asked to step up. Other families with a parent serving the country in our parish have brought another person with them to help out - a teen relative or an adult friend perhaps. I know that if a mom in front of us had he hands full, I'd offer to have a little one (or two) sit with us.

Peace be with you,

Kelly

 

[Called2Grace]

This is exactly the problem! I only have two now, but my 4yr old is unbelievable when we go to Mass. She climbs on the pews, falls off, runs up and down the isle..etc

It is exhausting....I spend the entire time "don't to that, stop that, get off there, come back here, shhh, sit still..." etc

I must admit, it is so much nicer to attend Mass without her, then I can actually hear what the priest is saying and feel alot more spiritually nourished rather than as if I had just ran a marathon....

And this is me when I had one child...

 

[ShannonMcCatholic]

This is a topic I hope more people will respond to. I currently have 4 children, my husband is in the military and will be gone for 9 months this year, and I want to cry every Sunday. It seems like it takes all my energy to get everyone fed, bathed(although most bathe the night before), in the car, and to church. The service overlaps nap time, so my baby will start screaming and I'll have to take him out. Of course, I have to bring my 2-year-old as well, who will run around all over the place, while I chase her, exhausted, with a screaming baby, while my older two start crawling on the floor under the pews or pick paint off the wall. The whole time I'm wondering why I did not just stay at home.

LOL! Welcome to my world --except add an extra kid and add a husband who never goes to Mass...I feel your pain. I often wonder is it more distracting if I let baby cry or if we all trudge in and out of the sanctuary....

Any chance you can go at another time, which is better for you?

 

[ShannonMcCatholic]

This is exactly the problem! I only have two now, but my 4yr old is unbelievable when we go to Mass. She climbs on the pews, falls off, runs up and down the isle..etc

It is exhausting....I spend the entire time "don't to that, stop that, get off there, come back here, shhh, sit still..." etc

I must admit, it is so much nicer to attend Mass without her, then I can actually hear what the priest is saying and feel alot more spiritually nourished rather than as if I had just ran a marathon....

And this is me when I had one child...

As someone who understands high energy children in depth--well I don't know that I understand them--but I am intimately familiar with the challenges they present---it sounds like right now you're just gonna need to let some of it slide...and tehn when you are in sync with new baby--start setting some boundaries. A four year old can stay in the pew and at least attempt to whisper for most of Mass. Who cares if she's on the floor or under the pew or standing on the pew...that stuff, in my opinion, is not "bad" or even distracting to anyone except for you. Not for a four year old.

LOL! I dunno- it sounds just like you're a mom at Mass....it kinda blows--but God is there just pouring His grace on you, and uniting with you body and soul in the EUcharist.

If you can read the readings ahead of time--I find that helps immensely.

 

[colleen]

I don't have advice, but I wanted to tell you that I love having children present with their families at mass. I don't care if they are climbing around, crying, making faces at their siblings, screaming, etc. And, my priest in St. Louis would always say that hearing a baby cry at mass gave him great joy, and would talk about babies in church means there is life in the parish, etc.

 

[faerieevaH]

I think the sling would be a good idea. Or just the car seat. Many people seem to bring their babies in a carseat. That leaves the hands free to grab for other children. I breastfeed, but I also had a bottle with mommy milk for places where it was hard to breastfeed. (like in mass when he is in the car seat) But if you can nurse discreetly, I don't see why it would be a problem.
Today we put Joseph in the nursery during mass. It's not something we plan to do each week, but we are trying to help him develop a bit more independence.
My Joseph is climbing etc. and is now strong enough to make it VERY hard to hold him if he does not want to be held. We sit almost always in the same space however and people LOVE him. They keep telling us after mass how good he always behaves and I realise they must have missed the times I had to dive to stop him from running up the altar or ducking under the next pew.
I second the advice of enlisting the help of other people. Chances are many have 'been there and done that' and are very helpful.

Sidestory: today Joseph managed to lose a sock in the car before mass. We didn't immediately see where the sock was, so we planned to just take off the other sock later. We forgot. After mass there was a social. I think 30 people (not exagerated) told us he had only one sock, offered to look for the sock and at least 15 aproached us in the short time between dropping him off at the nursery and going to my pew and getting out of the pew after mass and getting him, and asked us where "The champ" "that cutie" "Our sweet boy" was.

 

[Mom2Alex]

Amen, faerieevaH! Sounds like our parish Lots of car seats lined up in the back pew with all of the newborns and plenty of parishioners paying lots of attention to all of the under five crowd. I love to see (and hear) babies in Church! I know that God is great and what a blessing each of those children are.

God bless you and do enjoy this time!

Kelly

 

[Sianelle]

Our parish priest doesn't mind at all if wee tots cry or run about or anything else that babies and wee tots are good at during Mass. It's an absolute joy to see kiddies in church, - my two are enormous adults in their 20s now and I find it hard to believe that they were that small not so long ago.
Some years ago when my youngest was small I was quietly explaining the meaning of the stained glass windows to him before Mass and this awful woman who looked like she'd been weaned on a lemon loudly shushed us. May God+ strike me down if I ever lose the joy of my faith and end up like that.